A RANDOMISED CONTROL TRIAL ON CEREBRO VASCULAR ACCIDENT PATIENTS WITH REFERENCE TO AETIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT: 24 WEEKS, SINGLE-CENTER, PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL PILOT STUDY

Objectives: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability in world. Stroke is an important cause of premature death and disability in low-income and middle-income countries like India, largely driven by demographic changes and enhanced by the increasing prevalence of key modifiable risk factors. The main aim of our study was to assess the clinical profile with special reference to the etiology of the condition, the management, and drug utilization review. Methods: This is a hospital-based prospective observational randomized control trial which was conducted for a period of 6 months at Government General Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Kadapa. Seventy-five patients were recruited based on study criteria. The data were analyzed and summarized as frequency and percentage by GraphPad Prism software using Microsoft Excel. Results: In a total of 75 patients, it was found that 45 and 30 patients were female. Maximum number of patients (i.e. 36 patients) belonged to 51–60 years age group. We observed that 52 patients were suffering from ischemic stroke, 21 patients were suffering from transient ischemic stroke, and only 2 patients were suffering from ischemic stroke and transient ischemic stroke. Among 75 patients studied, hypertension (62%), diabetes mellitus (28%), smoking (33%), and alcohol (33%) were the risk factors. Conclusion: In this study, ischemic stroke was most prevalent. Hypertension, that is, increase of blood pressure considered as one of the important and major risk factors for stroke occurrence and recurrence. Proper management includes non-pharmacological (physiotherapy) along with pharmacological treatment that included cardiovascular system drugs such as hypolipidemics, cognition enhancers, anticoagulants, and antihypertensive therapy

Estimation of Economic Returns to Soil and Water Conservation Research – An Ex Ante Analysis

The economic returns to investment made in soil and water conservation research have been analyzed. Technologies such as conservation furrow, residue incorporation have been found to be economically viable under farmers’ conditions. The study has covered four locations, viz. Agra and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Kota in Rajasthan and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. The economic surplus analysis has revealed that when adopted on a large scale, soil and water conservation technologies generate significant economic surplus as reflected in high NPV and BC ratio. The share of producer surplus has been found to be higher in the total economic surplus generated from technology adoption. Thus, investments in generation and transfer of soil and water conservation technologies have been found be justified in terms of economic benefits. However, various constraints that hamper adoption of these technologies are to be addressed so that the potential benefits could be realized by both farmer and consumer.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Soil and Water Conservation Works through National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in Andhra Pradesh — An Analysis of Livelihood Impact

The impact of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has been studied on rural livelihoods and the nature of soil and water conservation (SWC) works. NREGS is under implementation in almost all the rural districts of the country with the major objective of enhancing livelihoods through productive works. Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the three states leading in scheme implementation with a large number of works, expenditure and employment. In Andhra Pradesh, soil and water conservation (SWC) works have accounted for over 80 per cent. The share of labour wages under the scheme has been 80 per cent with only 20 per cent for material, which is well within the prescribed norm of 40 per cent for the latter. The field study in the Ananthapur district has indicated that almost two-thirds of the beneficiaries are farmers. The scheme has brought down the migration levels from about 27 per cent to only 7 per cent in the study villages. The linear regression function has brought out that the number of family members participating in the NREGS is significantly influenced by income from other sources, family size and landholding. The NREGS earnings are being used mainly for food, education and health security. Although the scheme provides opportunity for 100 days of wage guarantee, the actual average employment is only for 25 days per household. Ideally, this gap needs to be bridged at least in the distress districts. The study has observed that SWC works in agricultural lands, especially in the rainfed areas need to be continued. However, some works require structural modifications for a better impact.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Antibiotic regimens utilization in treating community acquired pneumonia of a government practice setting: a prospective observational study in medical inpatients

Background: Pneumonia is a lower respiratory tract infection characterized by inflammation of lung tissue accompanied by infiltration of alveoli and bronchioles. Most common type is community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Initial therapy is usually empirical that is designed to treat various pathogens. In CAP cases, antibiotic therapy should begin at the earliest. The objectives of the study include to identify most common causative micro-organisms, to assess risk of developing CAP in patients having co-morbidities, to identify most commonly prescribed antibiotic regimen.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted for period of 6 months at RIMS, Kadapa. 120 patients were recruited based on inclusion criteria. Treatment was given according to Infectious Diseases Society of America and American Thoracic Society guidelines.Results: In a total of 120 patients, 77 were males and 43 were females. 69 patients belong to 46-55 & above age groups. 84 patients had social habits and 36 patients are without social habits. Patients with single lobe infiltrations are 105 and patients with multiple lobe infiltrations are 15. In our study, streptococcus pneumoniae and pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common isolated organisms. Monotherapy was given for 7 patients, dual therapy for 97 patients and triple therapy for 16 patients. 33 patients received ceftriaxone (CEF) and augmentin (AUG), 29 patients received CEF and azithromycin (AZI), 7 patients received levofloxacin (LEV), 25 patients received CEF and LEV, 10 patients received CEF and ciprofloxacin (CIP) and 16 patients received CEF, AUG and AZI. 100 patients had less than 8 days of hospital stay.Conclusions: Research study concluded that β lactum antibiotics were the most commonly prescribed class. CEF and AUG was highly recommended drug regimen

UNOPERATED TETRALOGY OF FALLOT: A CLINICOPATHOLOGIC STUDY OF A 12 MONTHS CHILD AT GOVERNMENT GENERAL HOSPITAL, KADAPA

Tetralogy of fallot is a congenital cardiac malformation that consists of an interventricular miscommunication. This combination of lesions occurs in three of every 10,000 live births and accounts for 7–10% of all congenital cardiac malformations. It is a condition caused by a combination of defects in all the four heart chambers that are present at birth. These defects affect the structure of heart, cause oxygen poor blood to flow out of the heart and to the rest of the body. Infants and children with TOF usually have blue tinged skin. The prevalence rate of TOF is 3.5% affecting males and females equally. Pneumonia is an infection of lungs that inflames air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill with fluid or pus causing cough with phlegm, fever, and chills. It is most common in infants and young children and people with weakened immune system. A 12 months’ female child with this congenital heart defect and pneumonia was discussed in this report. However, most of the children with TOF need surgery, but timings may vary depending on the condition and severity. This is important to note that surgery for TOF is palliative but not curative. This report concludes that there is a need to increase awareness of TOF so as to encourage early diagnosis and therefore promotes better outcomes

Consortium approach for capacity building for watershed management in Andhra Pradesh: a case study

In Andhra Pradesh, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has developed and demonstrated holistic consortium approach for improving rural livelihoods through community watersheds. In Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Programme (APRLP) supported by Department of International Development (DFID), U.K. ICRISAT scaled-up the consortium approach with technical backstopping in 150 watersheds in five districts. Andhra Pradesh pioneered and up-scaled the livelihood approach in watersheds for improving rural incomes in dryland areas. As the complexity of meeting the capacity building demands of watershed development projects increased, Andhra Pradesh took the initiative of forming a consortium for providing services to the watershed development stakeholders. This consortium offered lessons and learnings to those in search of new paradigms of integrating watershed development issues with those of rural livelihoods. A study titled Consortium Approach for Capacity Building for Watershed Management in Andhra Pradesh: A Case Study was undertaken through GTZ-Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India (GoI) support to chronicle the evolution of the capacity building consortium in Andhra Pradesh and documenting the lessons learnt, including the experience of ICRISAT in consortium approach for improving the livelihoods of the rural poor. The study explored the consortium’s role in meeting the capacity building demands for complex livelihood approach, mentoring and handholding demands by the consortium partners, the process of forming consortium through capacity building, demystification of the government departments like the Commissionerate of Rural Development and NGOs’ role and experiences to implement the development agenda of the state along with the benefits and shortcomings which need to be addressed for effective functioning. The case study also recommended some practical steps for establishing and strengthening state level consortium in terms of reviewing mechanism, and sequencing activities, selection of criteria for consortium members, etc. Recently Government of India released new common watershed guidelines professing holistic livelihood approach and this case study would benefit important capacity building aspect for achieving better program implementation in different states

COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Indian and Global Economies

COVID-19, a pandemic disease caused by the coronavirus originated from China has been ravaging the entire global nations due to which the entire global economy is in the doldrums. The disease has been there in the entire globe since November 2019 and is expected to damage human beings and the world economies for a long time. In this article, we discuss the damage caused by the deadly virus to the Indian economy and the world economy as a whole. A word of caution is that until the vaccine is invented, the economies world will suffer to the maximum extent since most of the major economies of the globe are locked down due to the pandemic

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Not AvailableAgriculture, the lifeline of Indian economy, is highly dependent on the timely occurrence of monsoons, viz. South-West and North-East monsoons spread over nearly six months viz. June -December of the year. India receives 75% of rainfall during South-West monsoon in June to September and Indian agriculture is good during this time of the year. Statistical data is collected on various aspects of crop growth through various stages and these data need to be statistically analyzed using advanced statistical techniques with the help of highly sophisticated statistical software developed for various statistical applications. The present paper throws light on various statistical techniques for analysis of data collected from various agricultural experiments.Not Availabl